What Treatments Are Available For An RSI?
If you already have symptoms of an RSI or a repetitive stress injury, then there are many different ways it can be treated. First off, you will want to get as much information as possible on your particular disorder. You can’t achieve healing from an RSI solely by seeing your doctor. You will need to be an active participant during the course of your treatment and afterwards. You need to find out as much as you can about your condition to fully understand how to help yourself. You might want to look into reading some books about repetitive stress injuries in addition to consulting the experts. The people that may be involved in the diagnosis and treatment of your RSI are occupational therapists, physical therapists, physiatrists, surgeons, and alternative medicine practitioners.
It might be necessary for you to either partially or completely stop the use of your hand for a period of time so that healing can begin. You may need to purchase a special keyboard and/or mouse or get speech recognition software in order to prevent further irritation to your injury. This could also help you prevent it happening in the future. Your medical professional might possibly prescribe that you wear an orthopedic hand brace. You don’t want to wear one of these if your doctor doesn’t prescribe it because it could lead to further injury.
You may also be subscribed some medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications or anti-convulsant medications. The anti-inflammatory medications, like ibuprofen, will help reduce any swelling that you may have, while the anti-convulsant medications, like gabapentin, will help to lessen any neuropathic pain you might be experiencing. Another therapy that your medical doctor might perform is known as soft tissue therapy. This type of therapy works by decompressing the area surrounding the RSI. This will increase your circulation and aid in healing. They may also try biofeedback. This is generally used to reduce tension in the muscles in your shoulders and neck.
Your doctor may prescribe massage therapy if you have acute pain and nerve trigger points. For the best results you will want to use a licensed massage therapist; however, sometimes self-massage can be very helpful. Stretches can help you if your pain is less acute and for general maintenance of your RSI. Your physician may prescribe some occupational therapy or physical therapy in order to help you rebuild your strength and your flexibility. To improve your posture and to help reduce your fatigue in the long run, then strengthening exercises can be very helpful. This type of treatment should only be prescribed by your doctor since overusing the strained muscles and tendons can make your symptoms a lot worse.
As a last resort, your medical doctor might recommend that you have surgery. You should keep in mind that it doesn’t always work and you will be left without the use of your hand and arm for a long time. The above treatment methods have been proven to help heal even the worst RSI disorders when they are done correctly.
